In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

New York, JFK Airport.

“Waaaaaa—!”

Just like when we left LAX Airport, more than a thousand fans welcomed us here at JFK as well.

“Who are they?”

“It’s NewBlack! NewBlack!”

“Babe, I think NewBlack is here.”

Even passersby who had been walking by were raising their phones to film or shouting, so it seemed our name had gotten more well known than before.

“Thank you!”

“Thank you. Happy Thanksgiving!”

After wishing the Souffle a happy Thanksgiving, we quickly exited the airport.

While waving to the fans who had followed us all the way to the vehicles.

I climbed into the car and sniffled.

“Why is it so cold?”

It was a relief that we had taken out our long padded coats ahead of time.

The youngest member shivered and said,

“Maybe it’s because the country is so big. The weather feels completely opposite from LA.”

“I told you. New York is insanely cold around this time.”

Ri Hyuk, who had been bragging that he had been right, suddenly sneezed and covered his mouth. While I handed him a tissue, I also shivered.

Cold.

It felt like the chill was seeping into my bones.

“New York is incredibly cold around this time of year. Ha ha ha. Shall I turn the heater up a bit more?”

“No, this is just right.”

I waved my hands to the driver to say it was fine.

And before long, I took my coat off again.

The human heart is truly fickle. Once it gets a little warmer, the scenery outside suddenly looks beautiful.

“Woooow.......”

New York in late November.

Late November through the end of the year, when the two major American holidays Thanksgiving and Christmas are clustered together, is the so called holiday season.

Old men dressed as Santa Claus wander around going, ho ho ho, give me a rice cake and I will not eat you!

Every shopping mall hangs Christmas tree decorations, and the sound of bells and carols echoes everywhere.

Biju looked out the window and went, “Woooow.”

“I did not really notice it in Korea, but now that we are here it definitely feels like the end of the year. There are decorations everywhere already.”

“It feels like Home Alone 2.”

“Right. If we go that way, the hotel Kevin stayed in shows up, right?”

Various decorations could be seen in preparation for Thanksgiving.

As we talked about this, the driver, who was a native New Yorker, explained.

“This is just a preview. Ha ha. Once December comes, it will become truly dazzling. On the first of next month they will hold the Christmas tree lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Center. If you have time later, I would also recommend visiting Dyker Heights.”

“Dyker Heights?”

“It is a village famous for Christmas decorations!”

He said it was a village in southern Brooklyn where the houses were decorated beautifully with sparkling lights and Christmas trees.

They even hold a Christmas decoration contest every year, and the winner gets free electricity for a year.

In many ways, this country takes Christmas very seriously.

“Nice.”

The younger members and I looked out the window and repeatedly went, “Woooow.”

It felt like we finally understood why tourists reacted with awe when walking around Newridang Street while locals acted indifferent.

Becoming travelers was simply fun.

The New Yorkers themselves were walking around with their coats buttoned and flat caps pulled down, frowning as they hurried along, but to us the city wrapped in the holiday season atmosphere looked romantic.

“Hyungs! Hyungs!”

The youngest suddenly opened his eyes wide as if he had remembered something important.

“We have to eat that this time! In American dramas, people always eat turkey during Thanksgiving!”

“Really?”

“Yes! We should try it too!”

“Alright. Let’s find a good place.”

While we were asking the driver to recommend a good turkey restaurant.

Perhaps the holiday season atmosphere felt so nice that the youngest looked out the window and smiled happily.

“The atmosphere is so nice. I want to bring my mom and my sisters here.”

“Seriously. It’s so pretty. I want to bring Grandma.”

Each of us smiled as we thought of our families.

Kim Deoksun’s face passed through my mind, and then for a moment I remembered my parents’ faces from the video.

The youngest said with a grin,

“In American dramas there is always a Christmas episode. It starts with a Christmas carol in the opening.”

“Oho.”

A warm family atmosphere came to mind.

“And then a mysterious corpse falls from the top of a building and the case begins.”

“.......”

“Why are you like that? All investigation dramas start like that.”

I did not really understand American sensibilities.

If we applied that logic to Korea, it would be like a corpse appearing every year during Chuseok or Lunar New Year in dramas.

While I was laughing at that pointless thought, the driver shouted cheerfully.

“We have arrived at the destination!”

Only then did a huge and uniquely designed building come into view.

The first place we visited as soon as we arrived in New York.

It was a large museum that exhibited contemporary art and also the venue where a fundraising party for next year’s concert would be held.

When we entered through the staff entrance of the museum, a familiar face greeted us.

“Wooju!”

“Paul, it’s been a while!”

The handsome Frenchman greeted us with a bright smile.

We exchanged a light hug and cheek kisses while greeting each other in English.

The younger members awkwardly followed my lead.

“Kim Junhyun.”

“Right. Kim Biju.”

Biju and Junhyun looked at each other while swallowing nervously, when Ri Hyuk cut in with a hand gesture.

“We do not do that with each other. You do that with other people.”

“Ah.”

“I see.”

Paul and I burst out laughing at the younger members’ foolish expressions.

Then we looked at each other’s worn out faces.

“You look very tired, Paul.”

“It is not something Wooju should be saying... but I have been participating in this project while keeping up with my schedule, so there was a lot to prepare.”

I felt grateful to the man whose eyes looked slightly hollow.

Despite his already breathlessly busy schedule, this famous pianist had taken on a leading role in the project.

“If I did not do what I needed to do for Professor Sun Myungju’s final concert, I would not be able to sleep.”

“Thank you, Paul.”

He had been a great help to someone like me who knew nothing about fundraising parties or events.

Paul Laurent gestured.

“I should introduce you to the friends who worked hard to make today’s fundraising party happen. Come this way.”

We walked through the staff corridor and went up the stairs, arriving at a spacious exhibition hall.

The space was so large it could almost be compared to a soccer field, with a high ceiling and various artworks displayed below.

At the entrance, two men in coats waved.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Wooju.”

A neatly bearded European extended his hand, and Paul introduced him.

“Raul Gonzalez. He is the friend who helped the most with this project. He currently manages a multinational fund and mainly works with art and music.”

“I am sorry to say this to Professor Sun Myungju, but it turns out my talent was better suited elsewhere. Ha ha.”

He had a sharp, foxlike impression.

After thanking him and shaking hands, I turned to the African man standing next to him. It was a face I had seen during a video meeting.

“Nice to meet you. I have wanted to meet you.”

He had the calm impression of a slow turtle, and his English tone was gentle and steady.

Paul introduced him.

“Immanuel Mugabo. He now runs an agency that represents performers like me.”

“I also found my talent somewhere else. Though I still enjoy playing the saxophone.”

I shook hands with the smiling man.

Two people who ran a fund and an agency, and a world famous pianist.

These people had mobilized their networks to organize the fundraising party.

“You made it this large.”

“That is right. Ha ha!”

I should have been smiling with joy, but instead my mouth hung open because of the scale.

The enormous exhibition hall.

Even though I had heard about it beforehand, it still made me blink in disbelief.

The younger members, the managers, and Seokhwan all stared wide eyed at the exhibition hall that would be used as the party venue.

“Hey, the scale of this is...”

“Wonseok, do not go near the exhibits by accident. That thing that looks like a trash can costs ten million dollars.”

“Ah, understood. But no matter how I look at it, it still looks like a trash can.”

But what was most unbelievable was the preparation time. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

It had not even been long since I contacted Paul, yet a party of this scale had been prepared.

“Is this even possible?”

Mr. Raul gave a sly smile.

“It is possible.”

“Really?”

“Yes. If you spend an absurd amount of money, nothing is impossible.”

That was a wise saying.

Immanuel, the agency head, added,

“Besides, many of the usual problems parties face were solved easily. For example, inviting famous guests.”

“How did you solve that?”

“When we said that Paul and several well known figures in the art world would attend, notable figures started flocking in. It is a great opportunity to satisfy the vanity of wealthy people. After that, people began expressing their desire to attend first...”

Immanuel looked around the museum and said leisurely,

“Securing the venue was not difficult either. How many millions of views was it now? Ever since the teaser was uploaded to MyTube, everything moved forward smoothly.”

The story of the genius jazz musician who had prepared a performance in anticipation of his death.

The news that the father would return after twenty years had apparently become a huge topic in the art world.

“When the museum heard that we were looking for a venue, they offered the space themselves. Holding a party about the final genius of the twentieth century in a gallery that deals with twentieth century art carries great meaning.”

Starting from there, the trio who had taken the lead in organizing the fundraising party explained how the event would proceed.

Where the attendees would take photos at the photo wall.

How the refreshments would be served during the cocktail party.

How the fundraising process would proceed through auction items donated by various celebrities.

“Thank you very much. I do not know how I could repay you for this...”

I felt deeply grateful to the people who had set all this up while putting aside their own work.

“No need to thank us.”

Immanuel waved his hand and laughed.

Then he said seriously,

“He changed my life.”

“Same here.”

We looked at each other and smiled quietly, then looked away because the atmosphere suddenly felt a little embarrassing.

“Ahem.”

Paul Laurent pointed to the grand piano set up in the distance.

“And that is where you will perform, Wooju. When the fundraising party begins, you will enter from there and...”

We went over the movement route once more, although there would also be a rehearsal.

Following Paul’s guidance, I walked from the entrance all the way to the piano and quietly sat on the bench.

I asked the people gathered around the piano,

“May I try playing once?”

“Of course.”

At this fundraising party, I planned to personally perform one or two of my father’s unpublished pieces.

It might seem humble to perform in front of the world’s greatest musicians.

But perhaps there was meaning simply in the fact that his son was the one playing.

“......”

After taking a short breath, I placed my hands on the piano keys.

Trying to bring out the distinctive rhythm of jazz, I gently moved my fingers across the keys.

Beautiful colors spreading from my touch.

Starting quietly, then becoming slightly passionate, and finishing calmly and slowly.

I looked at the note my father had written on the copied sheet music.

Slow, lovely, and dreamily.

Slowly, lovingly, and as if dreaming.

When the performance ended and I gently lifted my hands, the three men were staring with moist eyes.

“...?”

The younger members were going, “Woooow,” in admiration, but the three men were quietly sniffing.

I asked with a smile,

“Did you like it?”

Speaking for the others, Paul Laurent replied,

“You said earlier you did not know how to repay us, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

The pianist smiled like a child.

“I think this repays us.”

After finishing the schedule for preparing the fundraising party.

We rested for about a day and recovered our condition, and before long it was Thanksgiving.

Just as Korea has Chuseok, America has Thanksgiving, but as expected from a capitalist country, the scale was enormous.

Apparently Black Friday, when seventy percent of the year’s sales occur, takes place the day after Thanksgiving.

Along with that, highly anticipated Hollywood films premiere and Broadway plays open.

It was the season when consumption exploded to its highest level of the year, and commercial advertisements filled the city everywhere.

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

The parade we were participating in was also part of that commercial strategy.

This historic parade began in 1924 as a project prepared by a famous department store to open the wallets of families with children.

Because of that, it had many attractions and a massive scale.

Including two thousand participants dressed as cheerleaders and clowns, more than eight thousand people took part in the largest parade in America.

We heard from the staff that roughly three to four million people came out to the streets of Manhattan to watch it.

It was an incredible parade.

But for us, something else mattered more.

“Achoo!”

“Achoo!”

“What the heck, it’s so cold.”

“It feels refreshing.”

The early morning weather in late November New York was terrifyingly cold.

While rehearsing METRO on the special stage set up in front of Macy’s, our noses were running nonstop.

“Ko Jjil Jjil Eee! So cute!”

Who are you calling snot nosed?

While watching the rehearsal, the Souffle cheered, and I pointed at them with a smile as if to say I remembered their faces.

“See you later!”

We moved to the trailer waiting room where the performers stayed and warmed ourselves up.

Seokhwan, who had heard the details from our American agent, explained the schedule.

“The event runs for three hours starting at 9 a.m., but you guys are scheduled pretty early so you will not have to stay outside too long. You are third in the performance order.”

“Who are the first two?”

“Bo Rich and Olivia Sitwell.”

“Oh wow. Then they should go first.”

They were famous American national singers who were quite old.

After hearing something else from the agent standing behind him, Seokhwan said,

“Oh, and the New York police asked that you refrain from actions that might excite the fans.”

“Excite the fans?”

“Uh... things like winking. Or beckoning them to come closer. Finger hearts. Basically anything that might make the fans too excited. Your fans are... pretty intense.”

“Yeah. They are intense...”

Because of increasing terror threats lately, the police seemed extremely sensitive about safety.

No wonder armed officers and explosive detection dogs had been moving around busily since dawn.

After hearing safety instructions, we also received guidance about the performance.

“You will move along with the parade procession, then your carriage will stop in front of the department store. That is where you sing METRO and exit.”

“Yes!”

“Let’s do well. Last year the TV audience was about twenty two million.”

Because the atmosphere was family friendly, the stage usually featured older national stars or kid stars rather than hot trending idols.

But in terms of viewer numbers, it was the biggest single stage we had ever performed on.

A chance to perform in front of twenty million viewers could not be missed.

While the younger members and I were fired up with motivation.

“The organizers put in a lot of effort because you are appearing this year. They even prepared a special balloon and carriage just for you.”

“Oooo!”

At that moment, a knock sounded on the trailer door.

We heard a staff member from the organizers speaking outside.

“Hmm? Oh.”

Seokhwan smiled at us.

“They say your balloon and carriage are ready. Want to take a look now?”

“Balloon!”

“Carriage...!”

We excitedly ran out of the trailer.

And then.

“...?”

The moment we saw the gigantic balloon floating in the sky.

We felt that something had gone very wrong.

The largest Thanksgiving parade in New York.

With three million people gathered in Manhattan, the police officers were busy moving around.

“Damn, there are so many people.”

One officer grumbled to his colleague.

“With this crowd you cannot even see what anyone is holding. Hey! You cannot cross the fence!”

Officers blew whistles and waved light batons.

Fences lined the roads where the event was taking place beside Central Park.

And behind them stretched endless crowds of people.

Children wrapped in blankets crouched on the ground.

Couples wearing flat caps chatted and laughed.

People holding cameras smiled everywhere.

The officer said to his colleague,

“It feels like there are several times more people this year than last year.”

“Probably because of NewBlack.”

“NewBlack? Ah, that boy band.”

He knew them because his nephew jumped around shouting “NewBlack!” all the time.

He was already tired of being asked to buy merchandise and was grumbling about how troublesome it was when—

Near the starting point of the parade.

The officers inspecting safety measures froze when they saw a carriage they had never seen before.

“Wait a second.”

They blinked.

“Is that... a goat?”

“Looks like a goat. Unless it is the symbol of Satan.”

At the front of the carriage was a black goat statue with flames blazing in its eyes.

A snorting black goat statue.

Its overwhelming appearance looked like the ruler of hell descending upon earth.

“Dae gil! Dae gil!”

Fans standing near the starting line were chanting something incomprehensible.

And on the carriage led by the satanic goat, the NewBlack members were wearing cute padded jackets.

That part was fine.

“What the.......”

But what were those balloons floating in the sky?

Out of the balloons being held by more than a hundred people with ropes, five of them made sense. They were cute miniature versions of the members.

But.

“I think I saw that in Ghostbusters.”

“The Stay Puft marshmallow man?”

There was a giant balloon that resembled the marshmallow boss from the ghost hunting movie.

A huge yellowish bread with arms and legs.

It had a strangely cute expression, but because of the shadows its appearance looked eerie.

If it had been small it would have been cute.

But the size...

“Why is it scary?”

“Anyone would be scared if a smiling teddy bear turned into a balloon dozens of meters tall.”

The bread doll floated in the sky, swinging its arms and legs cheerfully.

And beneath it the NewBlack members were laughing like elementary school kids backed by a middle school bully.

The police officers instinctively avoided eye contact with the balloon.

‘I do not know. What is that? It is scary.’

To the citizens of New York it became known as the doll nicknamed “What the?”

And among idol fans it would soon be called the balloon known as the “Souffle Demon King.”